I feel like I am just hitting my stride in some areas of my life. Sure, I can't run a marathon in under four hours or entertain the notion of playing linebacker for the Rams. But at nearly sixty, I'm gaining insight into aspects of life that had mystified me in the past.
One such area has been music. Lately the question rolling through my thoughts has been, what is it that helps me connect with a recording artist. Most of the time when I read reviews, the writer focuses on the lyrics and the music. While good writing and music are certainly essentials, I sense more often that the characteristics of a voice and the way an artist uses his voice can make or break a song. If they understand what they have written or what they are singing and have some personality in their voice, they can intensify the experience of the performance of a song.
Performers who come to mind are singers like Sarah McLachlan. The fragile, transparency of her vocals and the way she loves to voice a phrase emotes such sadness or vulnerability. David Crosby at his best, emotes longing through his phrasing and dynamics.
All you have to do is go on YouTube and listen to the remakes of an artist's work, by sometimes fairly talented people, to realize just how awful a song can be if the person doesn't understand what they are singing nor has the pipes to tackle a song.
One of the artists who has helped me begin to understand this aspect of music has been Duncan Sheik. He is gifted at writing and has the ability to convey his imagery. His album Phantom Moon was a gem. The mood of those songs was deepened by his vocals. I stumbled across this video of one of his songs. It demonstrates his capacity for conveying a mood. Enjoy.
I was just listening to Phantom Moon a few days ago— I love both "Mouth on Fire" and "Mr. Chess" because of the variance of the lower and higher registers in his voice. Masterful.
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